Successfull launche of PSLV-C28 carrying 5 UK satellites

Successfull launche of PSLV-C28 carrying 5 UK satellites

History created as ISRO rocket PSLV C28/ DMC3 is successfully launched into space

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C28) lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 9.58pm. Less than 20 minutes later, the rocket placed in the designated orbits three identical DMC3 optical earth observation satellites, an auxiliary earth observation micro satellite (CBNT-1) and one technology demonstrator nanosatellite (De-OrbitSail), built by SSTL.

It was PSLV's 30th flight and 29th consecutive successful one. For the ninth time, Isro used an XL version of the rocket with an additional strap-on. The heaviest commercial mission undertaken by the space agency underlines Isro not only as a major player for space industries globally but also as a leading foreign exchange earner for the country.

The overall liftoff mass of the five satellites added up to 1,440kg — more than twice the mass of its last commercial launch of SPOT 7 — a French satellite weighing 712kg which was put in orbit by PSLV on June 30, 2014.

The four-stage PSLV-C28 stood at 44.4m, with a liftoff mass of 320 tonnes. The mission was not without challenges. New designs comprising a circular launcher adaptor called as L-adaptor and a triangular deck called Multiple Satellite Adapter-Version 2 (MSA-V2), were realised by Isro to overcome the tough task of mounting the three DMC3 satellites each with a height of about 3m within the existing payload fairing of the launcher.

Five satellites are: Constellation of 3 identical DMC3 Satellites: Three satellites comprised of DMC3-1, DMC3-2 and DMC3-3, all weighing around 447-kg. They are designed for simultaneous high temporal and high spatial resolution optical Earth observation.

Application: Surveying the resources on earth, urban infrastructure management and monitoring of disasters. CBNT-1: It is an optical Earth Observation technology demonstration micro satellite, weighing around 91 kg. . De-OrbitSail: It is an experimental nano satellite. It will be used for the demonstration of large thin membrane sail and drag deorbiting using this sail. All of the five satellites belonged to UK’s Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL). They were launched as part commercial launch arrangement between SSTL and ANTRIX, the commercial arm of ISRO.